Vehicle door lock



May 31, 1955 E. o. CHANDLER VEHICLE DOOR LOCK Filed June 19, 1952 Esra/ 0. Chandler Fig.

INVENTOR.

9 BY gamma and VEHICLE DOOR LOCK Estal D. Chandler, Alpine, Tex.

Application .l'une 19, 1952, Serial No. 294,503

2 Claims. (Cl. 292--1) This invention relates in general to door mechanism,

and more specifically to a door lock construction.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved door lock for a swinging door, said door lock being in the form of a fluid cylinder having a piston, said fluid cylinder being connected. between the door and a door frame for the same and having valve means associated therewith for controlling the swinging of the door.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved door lock which utilizes a hydraulic cylinder, said hydraulic cylinder having associated therewith valve means which includes a pressure-responsive valve, said pressure-responsive valve resisting the closing of the door.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved vehicle door lock which is of a relatively simple and compact construction and which may be easily installed on existing vehicles without any structural changes therein, whereby the same is economically feasible.

A further object of this invention is to provide an improved vehicle door lock which includes a hydraulic cylindcr having valve means controlled by a motor of said vehicle, said valve means being so designed whereby the vehicle lock prevents the opening of a door so equipped when the motor of the vehicle is running.

With these objects definitely in view, this invention resides in certain novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of elements and portions as will be hereinafter described in detail in the specification, particularly pointed out in the appended claims, and illustrated in the accompanying drawings which form a material part of this application and in which:

Figure l is a fragmentary side elevational view of a conventional vehicle and showing the portion thereof in the vicinity of the front door, a portion of the front door and associated parts of the body being broken away and shown in section in order to clearly illustrate the relationship of the vehicle door lock, which is the subject of this invention, with respect to the front door of the vehicle;

Figure 2 is an enlarged side elevational view of the door lock of Figure 1, the vehicle being omitted and the essential parts of the door lock being broken away and shown in section; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged fragmentary transverse hori- Zontal sectional view taken through the doorand the associated portion of the body of the vehicle of Figure 1 and shows the manner in which the fluid cylinder is mounted.

Similar characters of reference designate similar or identical elements and portions throughout the specification and throughout the difierent views of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings in detail, it will be seen that there is illustrated in Figure 2 an improved hydraulic lock for doors, said lock being the subject of this invention and including a fluid cylinder it Mounted within the fluid cylinder it? for reciprocating movement is a piston 12 having a piston rod 14 extending out of one end of the cylinder it It will be noted that fluid is disposed in both ends of the cylinder 10 and on opposite sides of the piston 12, the fluid filling the entire cylinder 10 with the exception of the space occupied by the piston 12. The piston rod 14 is provided with a first fluid passage 16 which extends into the cylinder 10 and opens into the forward end thereof. The piston rod 14 also includes a second fluid passage 18 which extends through the piston 12 and into the rear of the cylinder it). it will be seen that when the piston 12 is moved within the cylinder 10, fluid is urged out of one of the fluid passages and drawn into the other of the fluid passages.

In order to assure that the fluid cylinder 10 is always filled with fluid, there is provided a fluid reservoir 20. The fluid reservoir has extending out of the bottom wall thereof a first fluid line 22 which is connected to the upper portion of a first fluid pressure-responsive valve, which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 24. The valve 24 is in the form of a cylinder 26 with a. fluid opening 28 communicating with the fluid line 22. A second fluid opening 39 is formed in the bottom wall of the cylinder 2-6, and fluid is adapted to pass through the cylinder 26 in response to pumping action of the piston 12.

installed within the cylinder 26 to control the passage of fluid therethrough is a tube 32 which is in vertical alignment with the fluid opening 30 and has mounted on the lower end thereof a valve member 34 for engaging the bottom wall of the cylinder 26 and closing the fluid opening 30. Carried by the upper end of the tube 32 and closing the same is an enlarged shoulder portion 36 which engages a coil spring 33. The coil spring 38 is urged downwardly towards the shoulder 36 by a circular plate 40 which is secured to the lower end of an adjusting screw 42. The adjusting screw 42 is threadedly engaged in a threaded bore 44 through the top wall of the cylinder and may be adjusted with respect to the same to vary the compression in the coil spring 38. The adjusting screw 42 is locked in an adjusted position by a lock nut 46 carried by the same and engaging the upper surface of the cylinder 26.

in order that fluid may flow from the reservoir 20 down through the fluid line 22, and through the cylinder 26, the tube 32 is provided with a fluid inlet 48 in its side wall. inasmuch as the tube 32 opens through the valve member 34-, fluid may pass downwardly through the valve mem ber 34 and out of the fluid opening 30. However, fluid is prevented from entering through the fluid opening 30 and passing outwardly through the tube 32 due to the positioning of a hinged valve member 50 at the lower end of the tube 32, the valve member 50 being closed by fluid passing upwardly through the fluid opening 30. It will be understood that fluid may pass upwardly through the fluid opening 30 only when the same is under sufficient pressure to lift the valve member 34 out of engagement with the bottom wall of the cylinder 26.

Connected to the bottom of the cylinder 26 and communicating with the fluid opening 30 is a fluid line 52 which is connected to a flexible tube 54, the flexible tube 54 being connected in turn to the fluid passage 18 in the piston rod 14. Inasmuch as movement of the piston 12 to the right will necessitate the pumping of fluid through the pressure-responsive valve 24, it will be clearly seen that the piston 12 may not be moved to the right unless suflicient pressure is applied to unseat the valve member 34.

Also extending downwardly from the bottom wall of the reservoir 2d is a fluid line 56 which is connected to a second fluid pressure-responsive "alve, which is referred to in general by the reference numeral 58. The pressureresponsive valve 53$ includes a cylinder 60 whose side wall is provided with a fluid inlet 62 to which the fluid line 56 is connected. Extending from the bottom Wall of the cylinder 60 and communicating with the filuid opening 64 therein is a fluid line 66 which is connected to a fiex ible tube 68', the flexible tube 68 being connected in turn to the piston rod 14 and communicating with the fluid passage 16. Disposed within the cylinder as and adapted to, be moved vertically is a piston 79 having an angular fluid passage 72 therein. The piston 79 has an extension 74 extending downwardly from the lower side thereof and adapted to engage the bottom wall of the cylinder 60. The angular passage 72 is adapted to align the fluid opening 62 with the fluid opening 64 when the piston 70 is in its uppermost position. in order that the piston 70 may remain in an upper position and opening the fluid opening 62,. there is mounted within the cylinder 69 below the piston 70 a coil spring 7 6.

Also positioned within the cylinder 69 is a second cylinder 78 which overlies the piston 79 and has a down- Wardly extending projection 39 which engages the upper surface of. the. piston 7%). Connected to the upper end of the cylinder 66 is a fluid line 82 which may be connected to a source of fluid pressure, such as an oil line of a conventional vehicle motor. It will be seen that when the motor or other pressure forming device is running, the piston 78 is urged downwardly within the cylinder 60 and moves the. piston 79 downwardly to close the fluid opening 72 whereby fluid is no longer free to pass through the cylinder 60. Inasmuch as fluid cannot be passed through the fluid line 66, the piston 12 may not be moved to the left, as viewed in Figure 2.

In order that the piston 12 may be moved to the left, when desired, there is provided a by-pass fluid line 88 by-passing thev valve 58 in the event of failure of the same. The by-pass fluid line $8 is connected to and communicates with the fluid lines 56 and 66. The passage of fluid through the Dy-pass fluid line 53 is controlled by a manually operated valve 96.

In order that the door lock, which is the subject of this invention, may be utilized in combination with a door of a vehicle, such as the door 92 of the vehicle 94 illustrated in Figure 1, it will be seen that the fluid cylinder 10 is secured within the door 92, Whereas the piston rod 14 is mounted within an adjoining door frame 96 of the body 9.? of the vehicle It will be seen that the door frame 96 is provided with an angular bracket ltlt) to which is pivotally connected a fitting 192, the fitting 192 being adjustably carried by the piston rod 14. When the door 92 is in its closed position, the piston 12 is disposed to theextrerne right of the cylinder 10, as viewed in Figure 2. When the door 92 is swung open, the cylinder 19 moves to the right with respect to the piston 12, which results. in the pumping of fluid into the fluid line 66. In View of the. foregoing, it will be seen that if the motor of the vehicle 94, is running, the pressure-responsive valve 58 is in a closed position and fluid is prevented from being pumped through. the fluid line 66. inasmuch as fluid is not pumped through the fluid line 66, the cylinder 10 cannot be moved with respect to the piston i2 and therefore the door 92 cannot be opened. However, when the manually operated valve 9t) is open or the motor of the vehicle. 94 is not running, fluid may be pumped through the fluid line 66 or the by-pass fluid line 88 and the door 92 opened.

Once the. door 92 has been opened, the same will remainin an opened position due to the action of the valve member 34 which. prevents pumping of fluid through the fluid line, 52- until a desired pressure is reached. It is,

alt)

therefore, necessary to exert a considerable pressure on the door 92 in' order to close the same, inasmuch as the closing thereof will result in the pumping of fluid into the pressure-responsive valve 24.

It will be understood that the reservoir 20 may be mounted on the fire wall of the vehicle 94 by any conventional means and that the manually operated valve 90 will be mounted on the dash: of the vehicle whereby it is readily accessible to the: driver of the same. The pressure-responsive valves 2d and 58 and their associated fluid lines Will be mounted on the vehicle 94 in any conventional manner.

The operation of this device will be understood from the foregoing descriptionv of the details thereof, taken in connection with the above recited objects and drawings. Further description would therefore appear to be unnecessary.

Minor modifications of the device, varying in minor details from the embodiment of the device illustrated and described. here, may be resorted to without departure from the spirit and scope of this invention, as defined in the appended claims.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A door lock for a door hinged in a frame comprising a cylinder fixed to the door, a piston in the cylinder having apiston rod pivotally connected to the frame so that said piston is movable in the cylinder in one direction upon opening movement of the door and in the opposite direction upon closing movement of the door, said cylinder containing liquid upon opposite sides of the piston for forming a fluid pressure lock at opposite sides of the piston preventing movement of the piston in said directions, means for relieving the fluid pressure in the cylinder at one side of the piston to permit movement of the piston in the first named direction and opening movement of the door comprising a pressure relief liquid reservoir, a pressure relief line from said reservoir extending into said cylinder, a spring loaded normally open valve in said line, a liquid pressure line connected to said valve for closing the same, and means for relieving fluid pressurev in said cylinder at the opposite side of the piston to permit closing movement of the door comprising a second pressure relief line from said reservoir leading into said cylinder, and having a spring loaded valve therein opened under pressure in said second line.

2. A door'loclt as in claim 1 and a valved by-pass pressure relief line connected to said first named pressure reiief line for optionally 'oy-passing said first named valve when the first named valve is closed.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 995,217 Bishop June 13, 1911 1,002,027 Brown Aug. 29, 1911 1,431,986 Simmon Oct. 17, 1922 1,555,174 Williams Sept. 29, 1925 1,572,484 Homar -2 Feb. 9, 1926 1,601,174 Hukill Sept. 28, 1926 1,674,249 Johnson June 19, 1928 1,783,043 Ives Nov. 25, 1930 2,198,862 Chesler Apr. 31), 1940 2,242,707 Haynes May 20, 1941 2,586,442 Seagren Feb. 19, 1952 2,628,091 Rappl Feb. 10, 1953 

